HTC: Widgets not important to most Android users

0.phoneArena
01 Mar 2013, 13:34posted on

With the new Sense 5 and Blinkfeed changing the way we look at the Android home screen, HTC reveals some of the research it used to determine that users would rather look at news feeds and updates instead of widgets; as it turns out, most Android users don't know the difference between an app or a widget and after the first month of use, 80% of users don't change theor home screen...

I'm surprised at this claim. Since when does HTC listen to customer feed back lately?

Just in my nucleus of peers that own HTCs, most of us have expressed our concern to HTC of non-removeable batteries. While HTC claims we are not alone in these concerns, they obviously didn't listen with the new handset.

I find HTC's claim hard to believe. Perhaps they were polling iPhone users who don't have a homescreen nor widgets. While it's true that most users will rely only on limited homescreen functions with the passage of time, Widgets, multiple homescreen, and an advanced notification system are the things that set Android apart from other OSes. My daily phone chores have always included using the calendar widget to plan my schedule, photo frame widget as a shortcut to scanned documents, and note-taking widgets to see my priority patients. HTC's blinkfeed HEAVILY assumes all android users to be social media addicts who want to be hooked on the lates FB and twitter streams when most people tend to compartmentalize things for work and play.

That's funny, the first thing I was trying to figure out when I first saw blink feed was if I can use the clock without the feed. If Sense 5 MAKES you use blink feed of can it be chucked. And what the phone would look like with Nova Launcher on it, I like using my phone in landscape mode more than portrait. So typically, I skip the skins altogether, load up a launcher, and pack on the widgets. If HTC is trying to make Android look less like Android, that will be a huge mistake.

lmfao... "blinkfeed". They look like "Live Tiles" to me.
Microsoft introduced the term "glance and go" almost 2 years ago after its own extensive research revealed exactly what HTC are claiming here - that widgets are a waste of space and resources. I now find it ironic that android is evolving into what is essentially nothing more than a "Metro" style user interface.

After 8 years of owning HTC phones, I left because the service representative showed no remorse when expressing my opinion on the matter. My experience with dead batteries and broken charging ports with only months left on contract, has left me specific in wanting these options. Devices failing a total death, results in on board memory gone forever. I want removable SD cards to retain important info stored on them.

Honestly the widgets were cool for a minute but Ive been mad for a long time at how SLOW sense3 and up is compared to even stock 2.3 nexus even with a quad cores the performance is embarrasing. No Quad core or even dual core phone should have to wait 2 to 3 seconds for their contacts or dialer to pop up. I love HTC too but id rather have a simpler phone that is smooth and fast and blink feed seems cool to me. Also Widgets are kinda useless and waste space and what makes Android android and not IOS is....Free music downloads Free Torrents for movies games ect. Free apps, alternate app markets, more choice of device size or look. the only good widgets are music weather and the picture grid im my opinoin.

What self-serving HTC rubbish. I like my HTC EVO 3D, but what makes it useful is the assemblage of widgets on my home screen (Launcher Pro) to create a dashboard with what I find useful at a glance. Calendar items, latest SMS, wifi connection and speed, quick access to profile changes, quick data enable/disable, quick camera access and an off/lock button.

Wow.... all of a sudden I feel like an alien coz I use widgets for toggling wifi hotspot, weather, facebook, alarms, my flashlight, playing music, quick access to dictionary.com and so on..... widgets are a HUGE pro for me.... to be honest, always thought that was so fr pretty much everyone using android except my mamma!

I see what you mean. For things like that its easier to have widgets to just flip and switch things off easily. my problem with the widgets I find is that none of them look good enough visually or allow me to customize enough according to my mood. If you have any suggestions as to which ones allow that level of use I would be glad to hear it; especially with a device as big as i have. Widgets would make things a bit easier for me.

Just ditched my HTC one s for a nexus, suck it HTC. Currently have 6 widgets, just haven't gotten around to doing the rest yet. HTC bones there users. I've had 2 HTC models, needless to say, there won't be a third.

What are you smoking HTC? I seriously don't the accuracy of that survey. True that many folks may not even know how to activate widgets on the android home screen but who's fault?! For android users who are 2+years it's a different story though, widgets matter HTC! So does removable batteries & sd cards.

They are right about the widgets. Sorry but on my phone I am just not interested in widgets. My screens are mainly clear beyond the few program icons i use the most thats it. On a tablet, widgets seem much more useful to me than on my phone even if it is as big as the note 2.

using calendar widget, clock and ttpod or just say music player widget. also, with go launcher, i can make "second drawer apps" by using its folder function on homescreen, so no shortcut icons scattering on my home screen and ruins my wallpaper beauty, they are blended each other not distorting each other + im using it on a different home screens, and i only have 3 home screens. 1 for main home (clock, date and folders of games, apps, internet things and navigations apps. 2 calendar widget, 3 music widget. and a floating widget that shows me time, date, battery percentage and temperature + data traffic and speed usage. rarely use livewallpaper.

For me, using widgets enables me to do the following with only ONE CLICK:

1- Connect to the internet using WIFI (3 clicks in iphone)
2- Call any of my favorite contacts
3- Lock/unlock screen rotation (really important when using my mobile while sleeping :D) (I think it needs 3 clicks in iphone as well)
... and a lot more

The first two is very important for me (and I think for every one), and so I think It's really important. Although being important is not equal to being used :D

...and all andro fans were always whinning how widgets were important.
and now, one of their beloved company, htc, claims something opposite and rip off of metro ui straight from NokiaSoft. Maybe they will get rid of notification bar as well?
oh, irony...

Ahhh! I figured their game out. This statement about widgets, the look of Sense 8 (oops, I mean Sense 5), and the marketing of their new HTC One... It's a part of their strategy to unify their brand and the device experience.
They're going to make Android and Windows Phone handsets with indistinguishable UI. Anyone coming from one OS to the other has no learning real learning curve, and any passers by will immediately recognize the handset as an HTC product. HTC "One" indeed.

At least, that's what it looks like their plans are to me. Whether or not it works...

WTF is HTC talking about?
Are they really Serious?
C'mon, Widgets are cool and handy too.
I always to realy on my widget to know Weatcher, Time, date, Facebook Statuse, Recent Call/Dail etc.
I bet Almost 99.9% Android use Love widget and the really need them for daily life.

That is why HTC is in LOSS and will never become the top smartphone player. They are listening to totally unwanted stuff and also changing those stuff, whereas the real problems of Broken Mutitasking, Browser tabs reloading/refreshing issue, battery life/ irreplacable battery, no-micro SD etc is not even getting into their blocked heads.. Way to go HTC.. Dont improve on actual problems.. Juz concentrate on stuff not important to anyone (like widgets..not important...??? Huh..really HTC???)

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